Letters to the Editor 3/4/2017

TIMES-TRIBUNE READERS
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Published: March 4, 2017

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NEW YORK TIMES FILE A loader transfers coal to a dump truck at the Spring Creek Mine near Decker, Montana, in 2013. A writer warns against ideas about the restoration of regional coal mining and the removal of environmental protections.

Message to voters

Editor: Voters in Scranton must pay attention to whom they support for mayor and other city offices.

The citizens holding this city together face regular tax increases. Think carefully. Can voters remember when they had an extra $2,500 to $5,000 lying around?

It appears to me only the elites have that kind of money. I noticed in a recent story about donors to the mayor’s campaign that many of them do not have city addresses.

There are many homes for sale and no buyers, just sellers.

Fool us once... By now, there are no fools left. Hopefully, voters will remember in the coming election.

OLIVIA BENDZEL

SCRANTON

Bad intentions

Editor: Sane Americans who want to preserve this great country must band together.

We are just weeks into the new administration and it is a disaster. People need to boycott all of President Donald Trump’s holdings and those of his family, including hotels, golf resorts, clothing, furniture, jewelry and casinos.

He is a liar and a bully, and profiting commercially from being president is a violation of the Constitution. He runs the Trump organization from the Oval Office. The American people need to say no to this behavior.

Where are the Republicans who love democracy so much, unless it comes to standing up to this dangerous man?

The Electoral College was put in place to prevent someone like Trump, who is an unstable bully, misinformed and cares nothing about facts. He misleads the press, insults judges and anyone who gets in his way to total control.

People need to contact their congressional representatives and demand that he release his tax returns. If he refuses, then he does not have America or its citizens’ best interests at heart.

SHARON JAVID

OLYPHANT

Unneeded missteps

Editor: President Trump, in keeping with campaign and inauguration speeches, promises to bring mining jobs back in high-unemployment areas of coal states. Is it really a good idea?

Trump signed bills halting regulations that blocked coal mining debris from being dumped in nearby streams and rivers. Why was this done without investigating the enormous problems future generations would face as a result? The environmental damage caused in the past by above- and below-ground mining has been well documented.

The obscene establishment of culm and slate dumps remain in this area, creating the possibility of major ash and coal dump fires and costly environmental problems. I recall the Marvine culm dump fire in Scranton near the Throop border and the pollution it generated, not to mention the money and time spent to rid our area of the stink and ungodly sight it created.

With a stroke of a presidential pen used to sign executive orders, we may see the removal of decades of hard work to eliminate pollution to our rivers and streams and the air we breathe. Who gains from all this? This has big business written all over it. Why are we going to allow this to happen if only to fulfill campaign promises that were made strictly to obtain votes? Is this really making America great again?

JIM MASTERS

DUNMORE

Coverage challenged

Editor: Rep. Matt Cartwright held a town hall meeting in Dickson City recently. Anyone reading The Times-Tribune article would come away with an erroneous view of what occurred. I was there.

The GOP plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act garnered much attention. Cartwright gave Lackawanna County Commissioner Laureen Cummings the courtesy of taking her question first. It was, “What is holding up repeal of the ACA?” The answer, as anyone following the news would know, is that the GOP does not have the foggiest idea of how to keep a promise to repeal Obamacare without hurting millions of people who have medical coverage because of it.

Cartwright began his response by admitting that he is a supporter of the law. That statement was met with an enthusiastic ovation of support.

There has been a phenomenon in news coverage of critical issues that is known as “false equivalence.” In essence, it means that two sides of an issue are represented as being ether equal in their substance, or having equal support, even if that is simply not the case. Climate change is a great example. A tiny minority of skeptics may be given similar credence to the vast majority of scientists who have no doubts.

That’s what the writer did in his coverage of the ACA issue at Cartwright’s meeting. The vast majority of attendees support the law, yet the three or four people with criticism were given equal standing. That was completely inaccurate.

JAMES SHUTA

DICKSON CITY

Abortion options

Editor: I took offense to the letter from Gavin Sudano (“Abortion’s upside,” Feb. 25). His main point is that abortion is a constitutional right that benefits society.

He gives no indication as to what part of the constitution led him to this conclusion and I have not been able to find anything in it that supports this belief.

He says abortions are “safer than ever” but provides no evidence to validate this claim. He insinuates that if an unborn baby has abnormalities, then abortion saves the child from a life of pain and misery. I find the idea of judging the quality of someone’s life based on their potential disabilities to be barbaric.

He argues that abortions are affordable and that it saves taxpayers money, but bringing money into the argument is repulsive. Whether a practice such as abortion is affordable or saves anyone money is irrelevant. It is, after all, a baby with its own unique DNA.

Mr. Sudano believes that an unwanted child should not be brought into this world. While perhaps a birth mother or father may not want to raise a child, many couples are on adoption waiting lists who would want these children.

As a woman and a mother, I am sensitive to the reasons why a woman might be inclined to consider abortion. But women deserve to know the truth and make decisions based on truth, not outlandish claims such as those perpetuated by Mr. Sudano. The truth is, there are options besides abortion.

JAIME MOSHER

OLYPHANT

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